Chaos in the House

I was perusing who is perusing my site from which sites and I came across this particular website from Iran . Unfortunately, I cannot tell whether he is writing in Arabic and Farsi, but he looks like a nice guy. Not like that idiot President of his.

There were no buses back to my neighborhood from Jerusalem and the bus stop was packed full of people. I decided to share a cab with three other women also waiting. The cab driver was crazy.

"That'll be 80 shekel" he told us the fare would be.

"that's ridiculous. I never pay more than 50"

I wanted to get out of the cab but the other women didn't care - they were just going to pay him 15 shekels each, take it or leave it. I pointed to a taxi stand where I always take cabs from. He glared at me.

"You go with all those Muhammads?" letting me know that everyone at that stand were probably East Jerusalem Arabs, which I already knew but didn't care.

"Yeah. They're good drivers and they don't rip me off like you are doing"

Meanwhile, he's going on and on the rest of the ride about a French homosexual passenger, mimicking his accent, telling us we're all fat because his cab can't get up the hill (this is where I asked him for my money back), and thought I was the filthy rich one because I was from North America. What a dick. Next time, I'm stuck, I'll be sure to use the taxi drivers from East Jerusalem who stand by Kikar Zion in downtown Jerusalem.

It's day 5 that two teenage refugees are staying in our home. Our town is full of refugees from the North and I felt it last night while shopping. It seemed like pre-holiday shopping with the crowds and carts filled to the brim. My cart was equally brimming full of food. One of my checks to the supermarket had recently bounced causing me not to be able to write any more checks. But here I was with $150 worth of food for 10 people, all packed up in my cart, ready for the trunk of my car. I shelled out my ID card and gave it to the supermarket manager.

"I'll bring you the cash tomorrow for today's stuff and the bounced check" I promised. And off I went with my stuff.

Later that night the refugees were planning a night on the town with my Daughter. They had the blow dryer going for 1 1/2 hours and the cellphones ringing and the house phone ringing and the front door opening and closing. Hubby was sleeping again on the couch, but I thought I'd go out of my mind with all the noise. Sunday they all go back to their hostel and I'll have my peace and quiet back.

In the morning, I needed to have a quiet respite from my chaotic household which grew in size because my other daughter brought in 2 more friends and my married daughter and her hubby were coming in for the weekend. I took Hubby to a hotel brunch, where it was quiet and peaceful - unlike the noisy places I usually frequent in the shuk.

Married daughter kept on interrupting my quiet brunch threatening to leave because of all the people in the house. I decided the best thing for me this weekend would be to have a real Shabbat (Sabbath) in the house - kind of like what the Orthodox Jews do. No phones ringing, no television, no blow dryer noise for 2 hours, no cellphones, no computer clicking, no nothing. Just sitting back and reading and talking, not to mention eating - and lots of it. It actually sounds ideal. It might be just what I need this weekend.